As the fourth consecutive year of record numbers of mergers and acquisitions in the insurance business, 1998 was most notable as the year of especially large-scale mergers in worldwide private insurance. Deregulation and the advent of the European Union’s common currency spurred such changes, although economic downturns slowed the trend late in the year. Large insurers, including Allianz AG Holding Co. in Germany, Assurances Générales in France, and General Accident PLC in the U.K., became larger. Globalization of the U.S. market was evidenced by the fact that insurers headquartered outside the U.S. wrote 10% of the policies in 1998 and that one-third of U.S. reinsurance was written abroad. During the first half of 1998 Conning and Co. reported 263 U.S. insurance mergers with a value of $135 billion, led by the gigantic merger of Travelers Group into Citicorp ($70 billion) and by General Reinsurance Corp. into Berkshire Hathaway Inc. ($22 billion). The merger mania also affected the insurance brokerage business, as Aon Corp., J&H Marsh & McLennan, and Willis Corroon Group added smaller firms and became the three largest concerns in that field.

In addition to ordinary mergers, insurance company changes during the year featured many demutualizations and the formation of financial services conglomerates. (Mutualization is an insurance method in which the policyholders constitute the members of the insuring company.) Four of the largest life insurers, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Prudential Insurance Co. of America, John Hancock Life Insurance Co., and Mutual of New York, either had demutualized or intended to do so. Other smaller mutual insurers joined mutual holding companies in order to provide additional capital. Even mutual holding companies merged, as, for example, Acacia Mutual Holding Co. and Ameritas Mutual Insurance Holding Co. The merger trend for health maintenance organizations (HMOs) slowed because of low stock prices.

The potential benefits of combining financial services were being sought in many directions by insurers who were either buying or being bought. Examples included the GE Capital Services Inc. purchase of Kemper Reinsurance Co., Zurich Financial Services Group’s merger with a unit of B.A.T. Industries PLC, American International Group’s purchase of Sun America Inc. to form an insurance-retirement savings colossus with $200 billion in assets, and United Services Automobile Association’s combination with a thrift bank and securities firm.

Swiss Reinsurance Co. research attributed the worldwide growth of life insurance to reductions in government pension systems. Sales of other types of insurance increased sluggishly. Among specific markets the U.K. appeared to be the best in Europe, with other markets showing slow premium growth. After the $2.5 billion bankruptcy of Nissan Mutual Life, life insurance sales in Japan dropped about 3%. In Japan’s recessionary environment residential earthquake and compulsory automobile insurance rates also fell.

Major disasters in 1998 included the Swissair crash near Nova Scotia (estimated at $500 million in insurance costs), Hurricanes Georges ($2 billion) and Bonnie ($360 million), widespread fires in Florida, and ice storms and tornadoes in the southern and central U.S. In late October Hurricane Mitch, one of the most powerful storms of the century, devastated Honduras and Nicaragua. Damages in Honduras alone totaled at least $5 billion, but at the year’s end the insured losses were still being assessed.

In regard to specific types of insurance, comparison shopping for automobile and homeowners insurance became easier. As they competed with banks and securities brokers in the burgeoning pension rollover market, life insurers promoted the benefits of tax-deferred annuities. Variable annuity sales reached $50 billion during the first half of 1998, and variable life insurance sales rose 26%.

Among the fastest-growing types of insurance was that covering employment practices. Coverage by employers became both more essential and more expensive. Symptomatic of the rising costs of medical care were research studies that showed Alzheimer’s disease affecting some four million Americans and costing businesses more than $33 billion a year. Health insurers were divided on the question as to whether or not to pay the claims made for the use of the new drug Viagra for both medically necessary treatment as well as for its general use. (SeeHEALTH AND DISEASE: Sidebar.)

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners approved a model bill for adoption by the states that would regulate the standards of conduct in replacing life insurance and annuities. New federal regulation was proposed for regulating HMO mergers, and policies that augmented Medicare coverage gained popularity, as HMOs restricted benefits in the face of much public criticism.

Among other developments, genetic and DNA research caused a flurry of proposed legislation to limit access to and use of such information in insurance underwiting. In August the largest insurance company in Italy agreed to pay $100 million to survivors and heirs of victims of the Holocaust as payouts for life insurance and annuity policies that it had refused to honour after World War II.

MACHINERY AND MACHINE TOOLS

According to preliminary figures for 1997, the value of the worldwide production of machine tools amounted to about $38 billion. Japan was the leading country with production totaling approximately $9,980,000,000; Germany was second with $6,790,000,000, followed by the U.S., $4.9 billion; Italy, $3,450,000,000; Switzerland, $1,990,000,000; Taiwan, $1,820,000,000; China, $1.7 billion; and the U.K., $1,380,000,000. France, South Korea, Spain, and Brazil each had production worth between $500 million and $1 billion. (All figures are for machines valued at approximately $3,000 or more.)

For reporting purposes machine tools are typically categorized as those that cut metal, such as drilling machines, lathes, and milling machines, and those that form metal, such as forging and stamping machines, bending machines, and shearing machines. The value of metal-cutting machines produced in a given year is typically three to four times the value of metal-forming machines produced. In 1997 worldwide production of metal-cutting machines was valued at about $28 billion, while that of metal-forming machines was about $10 billion.

Of the $4.9 billion total value of machine tools produced in the U.S. in 1997, just over 26% was exported to other countries. On a unit basis, nearly 32,000 units of the roughly 60,000 units produced in 1997 were shipped to customers in other countries. On a dollar basis, the biggest export markets for the U.S. in 1997 were, in order: Canada, which received machines having a total value of $360 million; Mexico, $232 million; and the U.K., $107 million. Worldwide, the largest exporters of machine tools in 1997 were, in order: Japan, with exports worth $6,650,000,000; Germany, $4,670,000,000; Italy, $2,090,000,000; Switzerland, $1,710,000,000; Taiwan, $1,360,000,000; and the U.S., $1,280,000,000.

In regard to the consumption of machine tools, which consists of production plus imports minus exports, the U.S. headed the list in 1997 with a total value of $7,680,000,000. Germany was second with $4.5 billion, followed by Japan, $4,070,000,000; China, $3 billion; Italy, $2,420,000,000; the U.K., $1,790,000,000; South Korea, $1,550,000,000; France, $1,430,000,000; Taiwan, $1,320,000,000; and Canada, $1,140,000,000.

Materials and Metals

Glass

During 1998 the Asia-Pacific region accounted for the fastest growth in the glass industry. The region’s financial crisis did not discourage potential developers, as construction of new float and fibre plants began. Growth was also strong in Latin America and parts of Eastern Europe. Sales growth in North America, Western Europe, and Japan was slow. The glass industry in those areas had to contend with increased imports from less-developed countries, where production costs were lower and environmental regulations less stringent, and all three areas experienced some deterioration in their overall trade balance in glass products in 1997. In Russia the market remained severely depressed.

Float glass production in Asia-Oceania (excluding Japan) totaled one million metric tons in 1987. By 1997 this had increased to more than 6 million metric tons. By contrast, float glass production in Western Europe in 1987 was 4.8 million metric tons and increased to 6.7 million metric tons in 1997. While the float glass and fibreglass sectors experienced some deterioration in demand in Western Europe during the past few years, the industry managed to maintain its overall trade balance for container glass and glass tableware. Production in North America declined 3.5% from 5.7 million metric tons in 1987 to 5.5 million metric tons in 1997. Container glass production in Western Europe totaled just over 18 million metric tons in 1997.

Ceramics

The ceramics industry demonstrated significant growth in 1998. Strong manufacturing economies in the U.S. and parts of Latin America generated double-digit growth rates for some segments of the industry, and recovering economies in the European Union brought about improved performance there compared with 1997. Difficulties continued in Asia (notably in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union), which accounted for nearly one-third of the global ceramic market, and in certain areas of Eastern Europe. In the U.S., where glass was considered part of the industry, total industry sales rose to nearly $95 billion, with glass accounting for 60% of sales, and the advanced ceramics segment continuing its growth to 28%.

Advanced ceramics, highly engineered materials that enable the operation of many industrial and consumer processes, grew strongly in 1998. Electronic materials dominated this category (about 75%), and the high growth rate of computers and communication equipment caused electronic ceramics to be the fastest-growing major product sector. Multilayer ceramic capacitors continued to gain market share through a reduction in thickness, and demand for these widely used components outstripped supply. A new automobile, for example, used 1,000 such capacitors on average. Explosive growth in wireless communication stimulated double-digit growth in the production of capacitors, piezoelectric crystals, varistors, thermistors, and similar ceramic components, many of which were used in mobile phone handsets. On the other hand, the growth of multilayer multicomponent electronic packages was disappointing, and the production of conventional ceramic packages for integrated circuits continued to stagnate because of competition from polymer composite packages with improved heat-removal capabilities.

Advanced structural and composite ceramics, historically limited to cost-insensitive aerospace and military applications, continued steady market penetration in industrial sectors due to lower costs and higher product reliability. The most successful approaches to achieving lower costs centred on dimensional control and net-shape fabrication to minimize machining and finishing expenses. Intrinsic reliability of materials moved incrementally forward via improved powder processing, although the unpredictable nature of ceramic strength and failure continued to limit applications. The use of silicon nitride ball bearings increased by more than 10% for a second year in a row owing to improved reliability, reduced costs, and greater customer acceptance. Ceramic turbochargers, valves and valve-train elements, and assorted combustion chamber components were gaining acceptance and were being used by automotive manufacturers principally in Japan and Europe. Ceramic catalysts, a mainstay of automobile ceramics in the U.S. since 1975, were being used to clean factory smokestacks of pollutants. This market, as with automotive catalysts, was expected to be dominated by extruded ceramic honeycomb catalyst structures with wall thicknesses as small as 50 μm (0.002 in), a value thought impossible a decade ago. The most notable examples of commercialized ceramic matrix composite materials were silicon carbide/alumina cutting tools that were used increasingly for machining cast iron and for high-velocity cutting of conventional metals. Silicon carbide/silicon carbide composites were found in specialty heat exchangers, and long-fibre composites continued to be developed for high-performance segments of advanced aircraft. The production of optical and electro-optic glass and ceramic materials, particularly devices that enabled optical switching and logic structures, was growing rapidly. The demand for these materials, which included optical fibres, sensors, and planar structures, was growing rapidly, particularly in telecommunications, automobiles, and data communication applications.

Whiteware ceramics--principally floor and wall tile, dinnerware, sanitary ware, artware, and a large miscellaneous group--showed steady growth during the 1990s, although year-to-year effects were difficult to forecast due to substantial flux in the markets and manufacturing environments. Demand in U.S. markets appeared to be stronger than in 1997, particularly in sanitary ware and giftware. A notable milestone was passed in 1998, when more than 60% of the ceramic tile sold in the U.S. was imported. Fast firing, a standard part of tile processing, was overcoming technical hurdles in the sanitary ware and dinnerware processes and contributed to higher productivity. A principal concern among whiteware manufacturers during the year was the conversion to leadfree glazes and decorations to reduce lead-related workplace risks and to skirt difficult marketplace regulations in some states. Dinnerware and "table-top" products continued their move away from heirloom-quality items toward less-formal products for daily use and casual entertaining.

Rubber

The Asian economic crisis had a serious impact on the rubber industry in 1998--almost 75% of the world’s natural rubber production came from Southeast Asia. Currency devaluations, especially in Malaysia, prevented the stabilization of rubber prices as outlined in the International Natural Rubber Agreement (INRA). The INRA pact between producer and consumer countries contained a buffer stock mechanism, whereby the manager of the stock would attempt to stabilize prices through strategic purchases and sales of natural rubber. Price increases occurred, owing to currency devaluations in Malaysia and Singapore. Though the International Natural Rubber Organization (INRO), which implemented the agreement, was able to make rubber purchases late in the year, Malaysia, the third largest rubber-producing country, threatened to withdraw from the INRO. Thailand, second in production, indicated that it would soon follow. Political instability in Indonesia, however, prevented the world’s top producer from addressing the issue.

Malaysia and Thailand began formulating a plan whereby the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries would oversee a production cut and set up a buffer stock to aid the producing countries. A cut in production, however, would be difficult to implement in many of these countries, owing to the dependence of small plantations on rubber production for their livelihoods.

Legislation and litigation in the U.S. was affecting natural rubber latex products, specifically powdered latex gloves used by the medical profession. As a result of a number of allergies to latex, eight states had introduced legislation to ban or regulate powdered latex gloves, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was drafting rules to regulate them. By mid-1998 more than 125 cases were pending in various state courts.

Evidence of the Asian crisis was reflected in the slowing of the growth rate in rubber consumption. The International Rubber Study Groups reported that natural rubber growth was only 2%, compared with the nearly 4% anticipated. The major consuming countries in Asia, Japan, and Malaysia, experienced declines of over 10% and 5%, respectively. World synthetic rubber consumption was 3.8% higher than in 1997 but lower than the 4.2% projected.

The major tire companies continued to expand globally and add production plants. Bridgestone Corp., which regained its number-one ranking in tire sales, announced expansions at plants in San José, Costa Rica; Hikone, Japan; Warren county, Tenn.; and Aiken, S.C. The company announced that it would build a plant in Poznan, Pol., that it purchased a 14% interest in Chile’s Neumaticos San Martin LTDA, and that it was resuming construction, suspended earlier in the year, of tire plants in Indonesia and Thailand. Second-ranked Michelin North America Inc. expanded existing plants in Nova Scotia and Ardmore, Okla.; built new plants in Reno, Nev., and Brazil; and purchased Icollantes SA of Colombia for $73 million. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. began expansions of its plants at Tatsumo, Japan; Topeka, Kan.; Union City, Tenn.; and locations in Turkey. Goodyear was also building a new plant in Brazil.

The German-based company Continental AG announced plans to build a new tire facility in Brazil and expand three U.S. plants. In Slovakia, Continental set up a joint venture with Matador AS for truck tires. Dunlop India Ltd. planned to add capacity at its passenger-tire facility in Tonawanda, N.Y., and Appolo Tyres of India said it would build a tire plant in northern India.

Bayer Corp. increased butyl capacity at its Sarnia, Ont., plant, announced plans to build a butyl plant in Russia and a polybutadiene plant in India, and closed its polychloroprene unit in Houston, Texas. Goodyear began construction of a multipurpose synthetic rubber plant in Beaumont, Texas, which was part of a $600 million investment plan and the largest one-time expansion of the chemical business in its history. Uniroyal Chemical doubled its nitrile capacity in Mexico, and DuPont Dow said it planned to open a synthetic rubber plant in The Netherlands.

Plastics

World production of plastics in 1997 reached 286 billion lb and was projected to grow to 330 billion lb by the year 2000 (1 lb = 0.454 kg). In the U.S., production of 78 billion lb valued at $275 billion made plastics the nation’s fourth largest manufacturing industry, one that employed 1,340,000 workers.

World production of polyethylenes totaled 97 billion lb, projected to grow to 117 billion lb by 2000. U.S. production was 27 billion lb, and the fastest-growing segment was a new range of supersoft thermoplastic materials that provided increased comfort in sporting goods, shoes, and handles.

U.S. production of polyvinyl chloride totaled about 14 billion lb and of polypropylene, about 13 billion lb; output of the latter was growing rapidly due in part to its large-scale use in automobiles. Polystyrene, with U.S. production at 7 billion lb, was thought likely to benefit from new technology that would make it a valuable plastic for such engineering applications as gears and structural members. Demand for polyurethane for upholstery, clothing, carpet underlay, and thermal insulation was vigorous in the U.S. at 5 billion lb. Polyethylene terephthalate was used mainly in polyester fibre, but growth in carbonated beverage bottles and other packaging helped account for U.S. usage of 4 billion lb.

New plastic materials of special interest included liquid crystal polymers for electrical products, aliphatic polyketones for laser printers and fuel hoses, and cycloolefin copolymers for lenses, medical packaging, and colour toners. New additives to make plastics electrically conductive included very fine graphite filaments and inherently conductive polymers.

Leading applications of plastics in the U.S. in 1997 were packaging (29%), building (15%), transportation (5%), furniture (4%), and electrical products (4%). Packaging consisted primarily of bottles and films; major future growth areas for films were expected to be envelopes, grocery bags, and wrapping for fresh produce and snack foods. Building products included pipe, siding, windows, flooring, wall covering, wire and cable, insulation, carpet underlay, vapour barrier, panels, lighting, and bathroom fixtures. Electrical applications were primarily computers and communication equipment. Medical products worldwide used 4 billion lb of plastics, primarily polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polystyrene, and polypropylene. An area of potential growth was expected to be pallets, where replacement of wood by plastic resulted in easier cleaning, longer life, and improved recyclability.

In the U.S. in 1997 recycling of plastics from solid waste, primarily polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate bottles, totaled 2 billion lb in 1,700 plants. Recent achievements included recycling 20,000 metric tons of nylon carpet and 3,000 metric tons of polycarbonate water jugs. Other major recycling efforts included computer housings, Kodak single-use cameras, and Saturn automobiles. Europe recycled 9 billion lb of plastics waste, primarily by incineration; the European Parliament hoped to recycle 15% of plastic packaging by 2001. Germany in 1997 recycled 65% of plastic packaging and targeted 85% recycling of junked cars by 2001.

Advanced Composites

During 1998 the market for composite materials continued to grow. The Society of Plastics Industry’s (SPI’s) Composite Institute estimated that U.S. shipments for polymeric composites of all types (including glass-, carbon-, boron-, and organic-fibre-reinforced polymers) totaled 1,580,000 metric tons, an increase of about 2% over 1997 and 8% over 1996; it was the seventh consecutive year that shipments increased. The 1998 increases were most pronounced in the construction, consumer products, and transportation sectors, and were reflective of the growth in infrastructure applications, the continued strength of sporting goods applications, and the growing use of composites in automobiles and light trucks.

According to the Suppliers of Composite Materials Association, worldwide carbon-fibre shipments for 1997 were 11,800 metric tons, an increase of 25% over 1996. The industry operated at close to capacity in 1997, and materials were in short supply. It was estimated, however, that capacity would increase 80% by 1999. The industry transition from defense and aerospace applications to higher-volume, lower-cost applications led to the emphasis on the development of lower- cost tooling, materials, and manufacturing processes. For example, processes that produced lower-cost carbon fibres in bundles with increasing number of filaments (48,000-360,000 filaments) were finding applications in high-volume markets.

The industry continued to pursue aggressively two potentially large markets that would make use of lower-cost materials and processing methods--construction and automotive. The application of advanced composite technology in construction and infrastructure renewal continued to show promise. The SPI Composites Institute estimated that composite shipments to the construction industry in 1998 totaled 334,000 metric tons, an increase of 5% from 1997.

Composites, especially in the form of sheet molding compounds (SMCs), were becoming increasingly important in automobiles and light trucks. According to the SMC Automotive Alliance the amount of SMCs used by the automotive industry increased from 71,000 metric tons in 1993 to more than 107,000 metric tons in 1998. High-performance composites, however, were not finding significant applications in automotive structures, despite collaborative research and development efforts to develop continuous fibre-reinforced composite structures for lightweight, energy-efficient automobiles. The composites had to compete with the improved strength and toughness of metals.

The development of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) continued to advance, particularly in the area of ceramic fibres and fibre coatings. Silicon carbide (SiC) fibres and dual-phase SiC/titanium diboride (TiB2) fibres, essentially free from degradative impurities such as oxygen, free silicon, and free carbon, demonstrated improved property retention at elevated temperatures, but advances were needed to prevent oxidative degradation that plagued nonoxide CMCs.

Iron and Steel

After five consecutive years of growth, worldwide consumption of steel declined in 1998. Greatly reduced consumption of steel products in Japan, South Korea, and several other Asian countries was counterbalanced by growth in Europe and North America, so that world consumption in tonnage terms fell by little more than 1%. Large inventories and low prices, however, testified to the turnaround in the market after a buoyant 1997.

The Asian economic crisis that began in mid-1997 at first impacted relatively few countries, and they were not large consumers or producers of steel. By December 1997, however, the turmoil had spread to South Korea, the world’s fourth largest consumer and sixth largest producer of steel, causing a 33% reduction in that country’s consumption of steel products. During 1998 the "Asian flu" spread farther afield, to Russia and Brazil. Meanwhile, the Japanese economy had slipped into recession, reducing steel consumption in Japan in 1998 by about 12%. China’s steel production continued to grow, but exports fell, and imports slowed by about 10%.

As the Asian region’s markets plummeted in 1998, steel exports formerly sent to Asia were diverted to other destinations; at the same time, steel producers in Asian countries, helped by the sharp depreciation in their own currencies, diverted an increasing share of their output toward the rest of the world, mainly the still-buoyant markets in North America and Western Europe. U.S. imports in the first half-year rose to 16.5 million metric tons, 12% above the year-earlier figure; this included sharply higher shipments from Japan (+113%), South Korea (+89%), and Ukraine (+45%). The European Union’s imports from Asia totaled about 294,000 metric tons per month, compared with only 40,000 metric tons per month during the previous year. With such levels of imports along with high domestic production, markets moved into oversupply, inventories swelled, and prices came under severe downward pressure. By the second half of 1998, steel producers across a range of developed and less-developed countries were seeking protection from low-priced imports.

A major development during the year was the introduction of the ULSAB (UltraLight Steel Auto Body). Following the completion of a $22 million four-year project, funded by a consortium of 35 steel companies in 18 countries, body structures were exhibited throughout the world to demonstrate the weight reduction, increased performance, and affordability that could be achieved with modern steel products and technologies.

Light Metals

The commercially important light metals, aluminum, magnesium, and titanium (and to a much lesser extent beryllium and lithium), were affected in 1998 by the very low prices in the entire base metals industry. This adversely impacted the financial performance of the producing firms. To a major degree this situation was directly related to the economic setbacks associated with the financial crises in East Asia, Latin America, and Russia.

A result of the economic events was a change in the world aluminum markets. Aluminum exports by such major producers as Australia and the Persian Gulf nations were redirected from the economically depressed areas to Europe and North America with a consequent negative impact on the price of the base metal. Aluminum pricing at the beginning of 1998 averaged 71 cents per pound, but it fell steadily to an average of 59 cents per pound by the end of the year, a 17% decline.

The world primary aluminum production (new metal) represented only a 0.5% increase over the 1997 total of 19 million tons. The United States was the largest-producing country with 3,550,000 tons of primary metal. The total U.S. aluminum output of 10 million tons consisted of domestically produced primary metal, substantial imports of primary metal, and metal reclaimed from scrap and recycling sources. Major markets for aluminum products included transportation applications, packaging (primarily the aluminum beverage can), and the construction industry. The relatively static market demand and sluggish near-term growth prospects created excess capacity in the primary metal production sector, and several firms idled facilities that had considerable production capacities.

The 1998 production of new magnesium totaled 356,000 metric tons, an 8% increase over 1997. (Russian and Chinese production is not included because quantity estimates are deemed unreliable.) The aluminum industry remained the largest customer, consuming 44% of the magnesium production for alloying purposes. The automotive market for magnesium alloy castings was static, as car builders continued alternating among steel, aluminum, magnesium, and plastics, depending on the price advantage offered.

After a growth spurt in 1997 a decline occurred in the titanium industry in 1998. This was associated with inventory adjustments and a slowdown in the commercial aircraft sector, as customers requested airplane manufacturers to delay deliveries of ordered aircraft. The earlier robust growth in golf club usage subsided to a level market, and its future was uncertain as alternate materials were being appraised as possibly offering better performance and lower prices. Other important titanium applications included the petrochemical industry, the chemical industry, and racing cars and bicycles.

Metalworking

Market and governmental pressures in 1998 forced metalworking industries to develop and deploy manufacturing processes that would cut costs, shorten delivery time, and lessen the impact on the environment. Large enterprises, such as automakers, aerospace companies, and appliance manufacturers, invested in the necessary metalworking technology and enlisted the help of small and medium-size businesses in their supplier chains.

By compacting metal powder into near net-shape parts, manufacturers were able to eliminate many secondary machining and assembly processes and their associated by-products. Owing to advancements in materials, binders, and processing, the use of one such technology, metal injection molding, increased by about 20% and produced nearly $100 million in parts. Hot isostatic pressing was another technology that was increasingly used in making parts from specialty and high-technology metals, such as tool steels and superalloys.

Worldwide metal powder production exceeded one million tons, and parts made from the materials were estimated at more than $3 billion. North America was the largest market, shipping 486,000 short tons of powder in 1997; $2 billion of parts were produced from the powder. North American powder shipments increased almost 12% in 1997, and shipments were expected to grow another 4%-6% in 1998. The automobile industry was using 70% of powder metal parts. As a result, parts made by the more traditional casting and forging methods were being replaced.

To reduce weight for fuel efficiency, the automobile industry also continued looking for ways to use aluminum and other lightweight materials. The industry consumed 17% of U.S. aluminum shipments in 1997 and invested heavily in high-speed machining, welding, and other joining technologies used for working with the metal. Automakers and their suppliers sponsored original research into producing aluminum parts and adapted existing technology developed for the aerospace industry. The steel industry also worked with automakers to produce strong but lightweight components.

As a whole, the transportation sector was the largest domestic consumer of aluminum, using 29% of output. In 1997 U.S. aluminum consumption totaled 8.9 billion kg (19.6 billion lb), and based on third-quarter data from the Aluminum Association, that figure would increase in 1998 by 2.1% to an estimated 9.1 billion kg (20.1 billion lb).